Long Live the Prince
by Melethril
Summary: Lieutenant Jee's reacton on receiving news of Prince Zuko's death and what followed this event.
1. The Prince is dead

A/N: I've never written an Avatar story in my life, but when they aired an "Avatar - the last Airbender" marathon on Nickelodeon last weekend, I wanted to write one. This is therefore my first try, so please, be gentle.

_Disclaimer_: I don't own a thing. I'm a fan, this is fiction.

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**"The Prince is dead"**

He didn't like this ship.

Lieutenant Jee remembered how much he'd disliked boarding the prince's small ship a few months ago.

Back then, the former Lieutenant (_if only he could recall his name!_) and almost the entire crew had either retired or been called elsewhere leaving the prince's ship, and he'd been assigned to it instead.

That small boat.

He remembered the sloop in the harbour, less than half the size of a regular battleship. His eyes had widened at that sight.

'_What, in Agni's name, have I done to deserve this?'_

Oh, he could think of a few reasons. Talking back to a superior officer certainly had been a bad idea. Yet, he'd been horrified at the prospective of serving on that little boat.

And the crew!

A bunch of screw-ups; either a liability or a shame to any proper ship in the Fire Navy. There were only two or three men left of the original crew and it didn't take him long to see the reason why.

The prince was a spoiled, arrogant brat who held no respect (especially towards his honoured uncle) and who couldn't care less about his men. If this insufferable young man should ever become Fire Lord… Agni, be merciful!

Only… He was, wasn't he? It was unlikely for the prince ever to become Fire Lord. These days, Lieutenant Jee was hoping that the young man could regain his proper place as an heir to the throne.

He had a heart, was determined and worried about those under his care.

Lieutenant Jee wasn't a fool. There had been things he'd noticed before that storm that would change his opinion of Prince Zuko forever.

Of course, he'd noticed that he was always the first awake, was already training when everybody else was still asleep. He'd also flinched more than once, when that insufferably quiet prince suddenly spoke right behind him.

He'd also known that, for one of Sozin's line, his skills with fire were limited.

He'd make a good soldier (if only he could hold that temper of his), but he wasn't powerful enough to be a leader.

That was what he'd used to think, at least. These days, he preferred such a Fire Lord over someone like Zhao any time. Besides, the boy had beaten the latter in an Agni Kai (not that he'd actually seen the fight, but rumours spread fast in the Navy). That counted for something.

So, he truly disliked this ship.

Yes, it was a real battleship, not the prince's personal boat. Yes, he was first in command for there had been no captain available.

However, it felt wrong.

It lacked the old, honourable general. Half of the men currently working on the ship he didn't even know by name.

He was supposed to lead them, but he didn't even know their names!

It was strange however just how much he missed that small form aboard the ship, always the first to greet the sun.

That young man whose inner peace and quiet seemed nonexistent. Whose entire existence was built on his quest to find the Avatar.

He was alone now, no crew, possessing an abandoned ship. General Iroh had stayed, at least. Otherwise, Prince Zuko might have lost all hope.

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Their ship had been navigated so far outside; they had no partnership to their right and only two other ships behind them.

He remembered Admiral Zhao's smile when they'd been told where their place was. Not for the first time, he wondered if they'd been sent there to die so the Admiral could slam the news into their prince's face. It wouldn't be below that man to do such a thing.

Lieutenant Jee was so deep in thought, he didn't hear Karu arrive. He was in charge of the messenger hawks and had been under Prince Zuko's command long before he'd set foot aboard the small sloop.

Wordlessly, he handed over a scroll with the Admiral's seal. With a frown, the Lieutenant extracted the message and started to read it. It had not been written by the Admiral personally but his secretary, yet it had been clearly dictated by the powerful firebender.

He went paler and paler until his face resembled an ashen colour when he'd finished the letter.

"Sir?" Karu asked worriedly, "Bad news?"

"Call the prince's crew together, everyone else shall continue working," he whispered without really knowing what he was saying.

'_Prince Zuko is dead. His ship exploded… Pirates, most likely.'_

It didn't take long to gather _the prince's_ crew. All looked at him in anticipation.

"I've just received word that Prince Zuko is dead," he said firmly willing himself not to waver, "The pirates we've come across of a few weeks ago sought revenge and blew up the prince's ship," he took a deep breath before adding, "While the prince was still on it."

Gasps of horror were uttered by a third of the crew. Everybody else seemed to be in shock. He took a quick glance at the Helmsman who owed his life to Prince Zuko. Horrified, the young Marine took a step back and swallowed heavily shaking his head in disbelief.

Karu, who was still standing beside him, decidedly shook his head, "It can't be, sir."

"It happened, Marine," he hissed, sharper than he'd intended. He felt so helpless, and briefly wondered whether this was one of the reasons why the prince had seemed so angry all the time.

He'd been looking for the Avatar for three years before finally finding him, a seemingly impossible quest, not so impossible all of a sudden. But the Avatar escaped, time and time again. Yet, the prince had not given up.

And now, it was over. That young, stubborn man no longer walked this earth. Scarred by his own father.

A wound deeper than a mere burn into flesh.

Gone.

Karu was unimpressed by his outburst, "Don't think so, sir."

Sharply, he turned his head around; he felt the fire within him begging to be set free, to _burn_. Life was so unfair; he simply wanted to scream.

He'd been a mere child; he had not belonged on that ship in the first place.

"Why?" he didn't know why he asked, but he couldn't understand how Karu was unable to accept simple facts.

No matter how painful they were.

"Been on that small sloop for three years, sir," Karu shrugged, "Saw the lil' boy come aboard, few _hours_ after the Agni Kai, though I didn't know back then it had been that. Everybody spoke of train accident, but really, ever saw such a wound by accident? Don' know why I believed it. Guess I didn't want ter know. He could barely stand on his feet, but he did. Half of his face covered in bandages, he'd looked so pained, but he didn't cry when he had been introduced to his crew. Didn't say anythin', though, guess he was too caught up not to pass out. That night we all heard him scream, it was cruel, but the boy never cried in front of us, not even sure if he did around the General. I remember the first time his bandages were no longer… Horrific. Nobody wanted ter look at him that day. Last time I saw him for weeks. Every mirror aboard had been either destroyed or removed on the prince's order, but we never saw the kid. Guess about a month later, he appeared again, occasionally, never without his uncle, he didn't look at anyone but the General, really."

"And?" Lieutenant wasn't an impatient man, but the Marine's babbling got on his nerves.

"Moved in the shadows, the lil' kid. Took me several weeks to find out. He wasn' hiding in his room. Yeh're a Bender, you know how they are when they're hurt. They crave for the sun, he had to see it, but he didn' want to be seen, so he wasn't. Slipped past the guard, the Lieutenant, everyone. One mornin' I saw him sit atop a roof, only 'cause I was lookin' after one of my birds. Wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. Out there, in plain sight, without bein' seen. Scary lad, the kid. Three years, Lieutenant, don't know if you understand how long that is. Nah, that boy will not have been stopped by a couple of crooks. He ain't that type."

Oh, how much he wanted to believe him. But he was dead. Stealth will not have helped the prince when the ship was torn into pieces.

Prince Zuko was dead.

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So, that's the first part.

It's meant to be a story in four parts, but it depends on how interested you are... Are you?

Thanks for reading and please, review!

And thank you, MissGoalie75, for beta-ing a story of yet another fandom. You are the best!


	2. The Horror

A/N: Wow! Thank you so much for the support. Here's the second part.

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**Chapter 2: The Horror**

"It's too quiet," Karu murmured into the mysterious, almost blue light of full moon enlightening the dark sea beneath the ship, "Somethin' bad is gonna happen."

Karu was a very old sailor, older than the Lieutenant was (which, unfortunately, meant quite a bit). He had been at sea for over twenty years, had no wife or children.

'_My only ladies are the sea and the ship I serve on, sir,_' he'd once told the Lieutenant.

The experience that came with it was not to be underestimated. When Karu said that something was wrong, he was usually right.

"What do you think it is?" the Lieutenant asked looking straight ahead into the icy fortress. The Avatar had hit some of the ships, but nothing bad. Yet, it had been a wise decision of Admiral Zhao not to attack during the night.

At day, Agni was taking care of them, but at night, it was La and the tables turned. They were facing waterbenders; only a fool would fight a waterbender on a full moon.

"Don' know," Karu replied, "The birds are nervous as if a storm's about to hit. But I…"

All of a sudden, the moon turned red and the command to attack was hurled over the sea. However, hardly any ship moved. Every sailor, no matter his rank, stared upon the sky. They heard several explosions far away, the marching of firebenders into the city of ice. Not a single ship in sight moved.

"La," they heard a sailor from a ship nearby, "Someone is hurting Agni's sister."

Who'd be foolish enough to…?

The Admiral.

Lieutenant Jee didn't know why he knew, but he couldn't think of anyone else. What sailor in their right mind would try to hurt the moon? Admiral Zhao wasn't a sailor; he was Navy, yes, but not a sailor. He didn't know what it was like to burn in the heat of noon and to bless the cool air at night, when La rose showing them the way.

As quickly as it had come, the moon turned white again, the gloomy atmosphere gone.

Mesmerized, the entire crew stared upon the shining stars and La, who seemed as if nothing had happened. He heard the people's breaths, ragged and shallow. They weren't panicked, but it was a close call.

"Spirits, someone's messing with the spirits," Ryu, the gunnery sergeant exclaimed, "The Avatar will not be pleased."

The moment the words were spoken, the sky and the sea turned dark. Horrified screams were heard all over, some dropped to their knees begging for forgiveness to have attacked the Northern Water Tribe, the place blessed by Agni's sister.

"Start the engines!" Lieutenant Jee snapped everyone out of their stupor. To his relief, he heard several captains giving the same command. They had to leave. It was not a sailor's duty to fight the spirits and the spirits' anger is what they were dealing with right now. He'd rather take an entire battalion of Earth Kingdom soldiers any day.

Why else would La stop illuminating the sky?

Karu fell on his knees, silently singing an old prayer calling upon Agni and La. At first, it was a whisper before it slowly grew stronger. He chimed in through humming for he didn't know the exact words. The prayer swept across the ship, affecting everyone. All those in a position to sing followed Karu's lead. Some (to his grim amusement, all those who'd been aboard the prince's ship for three years) spoke the words; others were more like him, just humming.

The ships around them were affected and a silent chant barely wavered above darkness.

Until it broke off.

"Spirits! What is that?" several people exclaimed. Ice-cold fear rushed through Lieutenant Jee when they saw that… _thing_ rising from beneath the sea. In its heart was a figure he'd seen before.

He didn't lose any second and screamed, "Start those damn engines and let's LEAVE! It's the Avatar!"

He was so glad the old crew hadn't been split up. Those men had faced the Avatar when he was in that _state_, they'd seen their own men be casted into the icy sea of the poles. There were no questions asked. Within seconds, they were ready to leave.

Admiral Zhao had ordered them to be at the fleet's borders. He'd meant them to be prey for the waterbenders. Who'd have thought it would save their lives?

Several ships around them tried to do the same, but too many men were petrified, some prepared to fight, others fell on their knees crying in fear.

They'd never seen anything like this.

Neither had Lieutenant Jee.

He'd seen the Avatar when the tattoos glowed, but this was above and beyond what he'd witnessed so far. He was so scared, but at least he could move.

The ship turned, but they saw the _thing_ coming closer. The screams were terrible to hear when the water swallowed countless soldiers.

Karu continued singing, as did many around him (who weren't busy getting the damn ship to move. He cursed the size of the battleship once more). However, others screamed at the sailors on the ships that were still at the exact same spot as when theirs had started to turn.

"Start the damn engines!" he heard several people scream. It took him a moment to notice that he was one of them.

They gained distance, but the Avatar and, as it seemed, the sea itself, drew closer, ready to kill them all.

They heard the splash of people jumping into water; the moment they resurfaced they were screaming for help or started swimming towards the only ship moving away.

His men arrived with ropes faster than he could hurl the command. Using stones as a weight, they threw the ropes into the water so they could be grabbed by the Marines.

When the _thing_ was close enough to be felt, Lieutenant Jee had the feeling as if his blood had turned into ice. He stared at the glowing, small boy.

Catching the Avatar was more important than the safety of the crew.

The prince had said it, though his actions had proved otherwise. Looking at the horror in front of him and the mass destruction it left behind, Lieutenant Jee knew that Prince Zuko had been right.

Catching the Avatar was more important than he'd ever given it credit for.

Karu sang louder and the men that were not occupied with getting the ship out of harm's range or getting the sailors out of the water did the same.

He was not humming, he was not singing.

Proudly, he stood at the ship's stern and was therefore the closest to the _thing_.

He whispered, "Not my crew. Take me, but leave the men alone."

The prince would have done the same. He'd stopped hunting down the Avatar whenever his men were in danger, he'd be standing right where he was now, ready for battle.

_Never give up without a fight._

He'd heard the young man say this once.

What Prince Zuko hadn't said back then, was just how scary it was to show courage.

The moment he thought it was over, that he would be soon facing Agni himself, the sky shone bright again.

La had returned.

The _thing_ looked up longingly and, right in front of them, turned causing a wave that drew them away from the battlefield, and retreated.

Silence followed.

Nobody spoke until, finally, the shock wore off.

Some screamed, others cried, a few thanked Agni and La for sparing them, but most were mourning the deaths of so many good sailors, some cursing, others whimpering.

Especially those they'd been able to get aboard were mad with grief. One of them even had to be restrained physically for he wanted to jump back into the water to look for his younger brother.

Five! Agni, have mercy! Their crew and nothing but five more Marines had survived.

"Turn around the ship, maybe we'll find some survivors. We have to move before the Water Tribe does," Lieutenant ordered and nobody complained. It took a moment before enough were ready to follow his command, but under tears and curses, his men got a grip, stood up and got to work.

True Fire Navy Sailors they were.

As the ship finally turned there was deathly silence while they were gazing upon the sea looking for any sign of life.

The Fire Nation's fleet had sunken.

"Curse you, Avatar!" Kyan, their healer, whispered as he put yet another blanket around the ashen white figure they'd pulled out of the sea, "Agni shall crush you, Avatar!" his last words had been screamed into the silent graves of their countrymen.

Especially younger Marines couldn't stop shaking. The divers tried to stay in the water as long as they could looking for survivors who were unable to scream anymore, but the polar water stole their very breath and they had to give up far too early.

Koi, the oldest and most experienced diver, stayed in the icy trap for so long, he was too stiff to move when the rope to take him out was wrapped around him. His teeth were chattering, his entire body trembled, "Never thought I'd ever fear the sea. Now I can't wait to get ashore," he kept mumbling as Ryu was warming him up.

"Wish the prince and the general were here," Karu stated quietly when he was supplying the sailors from the other ships with steamy hot water they were supposed to drink.

'Me too,' Lieutenant Jee thought wistfully, but instead of saying that, he asked, "Why?"

"Never noticed that temperature, no matter if warm or cold, was always more bearable with them around? Guess Sozin's line can do more than just casting deadly flames, sir."

General Iroh, for sure. The prince? No. That boy was still struggling with basic moves after three years of training under the Dragon of the West. He definitely hadn't been capable of using such advanced techniques.

There was no sense dwelling on it, anyway. The prince was dead and they had to leave.

By dawn, they'd already gained some distance to their fellow sailors' icy grave. It hurt to leave the dead behind, but they had no choice.

Out of thirty people they'd found alive nearly drowning, only twenty were still alive when the sun touched their ship.

In honour of the countless Marines dying that night, they went ashore a small island not too far outside Water Tribe territory and started a fire to burn the bodies.

Some were on their knees, unable to keep themselves upright, others were sitting there in a meditative position to breathe. Nobody screamed, but many soundlessly cried.

"Let's get off this cursed ice," Lieutenant Jee said firmly when he thought that the majority of his men were capable of carrying on.

They weren't safe here, not yet. They had to find Fire Nation territory as quickly as possible. There, they would be able to grieve and rest.

'_My Prince, I'm sorry for not listening to you when you told us that the Avatar had priority. May you rest in peace! At least, it was fire and not ice that claimed you.'_

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Thanks for reading. Please review!


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